The report highlights the seemingly peculiar effect that global warming is having on winter weather in the northern United States. Even as winter is becoming milder and shorter on average, most snowbelt areas are still experiencing extremely heavy snowstorms and some places are expected to have even more heavy snowfalls, with their attendant disruptions to commuting, work, and school.

And check out Dr. Jeff Masters’ excellent posts to better understand how more energy in the atmosphere from a warming planet can affect the intensity of snowstorms: “record-breaking snowstorms are not an indication that global warming is not occurring. In fact, we can expect there may be more heavy snowstorms in regions where it is cold enough to snow, due to the extra moisture global warming has added to the atmosphere – an extra 4% since 1970. Snow is not the same as cold, and we have to look at global temperatures, not snowfall, to evaluate whether global warming is occurring.”

I’ll be testifying in front of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee on the need to safeguard wildlife and natural resources and the essential services they provide to every American from the disastrous effects of climate change. See my testimony in support of natural resources adaptation funding in the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.

With the momentum we’re gaining on these fronts and the findings from the CNN poll released today that 60% of Americans support cap and trade climate legislation, we are now in our best position ever to win on natural resources safeguards and federal climate legislation.

You can read Larry’s opening statement here (PDF). We’ll have more details on the hearing later in the day!

Tomorrow I’ll be testifying in front of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on the need to safeguard wildlife and natural resources and the essential services they provide to every American from the disastrous effects of climate change. See my testimony in support of natural resources adaptation funding in the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.

With the momentum we’re gaining on these fronts and the findings from the CNN poll released today that 60% of Americans support cap and trade climate legislation, we are now in our best position ever to win on natural resources safeguards and federal climate legislation.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2009/10/we%e2%80%99re-in-our-best-position-ever-for-federal-legislation-to-safeguard-wildlife-from-climate-change/feed/041089Senate Energy Bill: “The First Step”http://blog.nwf.org/2007/06/senate-energy-bill-the-first-step/
http://blog.nwf.org/2007/06/senate-energy-bill-the-first-step/#commentsThu, 14 Jun 2007 14:58:29 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/2007/06/14/senate-energy-bill-the-first-step/Yesterday began with the environmental community’s less than favorite Senator, Jim “Hoax” Inhofe, proposing an amendment to require oil companies to build more refineries. (Nothing quite like requiring more oil infrastructure to keep us, entrenched in an oil economy). The amendment failed 52-43 on nearly exact party lines–Senators Snowe and Collins from Maine were the only Senators to break party lines by voting with Democrats against the amendment (Sens. Hagel, Coburn, Johnson and McCain didn’t vote, view in HTML and click here for vote chart).

Today, renewable energy is the topic for debate and (possibly) voting. NWF supports Sen. Bingaman’s proposal to require 15% of our energy to come from renewable sources by 2020, and opposes Sen. Domenici’s conflicting amendment to allow states to opt out of the 15% requirement – thus not actually making it a “requirement” at all. It’s still unclear how the voting will play out since both sides are threatening filibuster, both votes may need 60 to pass, but they may drop the filibuster and need only 50. Either way it looks like we could be getting votes on this major global warming amendment today!

Coming up after the RES votes, will be Sen. Klobuchar’s amendment to create a national carbon registry, which would make all industries report their carbon pollution. The amendment has three Republican co-sponsors (Sens. Collins, Snowe, and Coleman), but is facing the ire of Republican leadership as the start of a Senate movement to a comprehensive cap-and-trade bill.

“I think it’s going to be assumed by too many to be the first step,” [Sen] Domenici [R-NM] said in an interview. “We’re not ready to take that step.” (E&E Daily, 6/14/07)

Profound words, Sen. Domenici. Isn’t that what Neil Armstrong said? Oh wait…he had courage. He wanted progress. He took the step. Come on, Sen. Domenici, if you’re standing still, you’re falling behind–and the rest of the world is looking back at us.